Ho Ho Ho!!!!!

One more week! It is hard to imagine that Christmas is less than a week away! Christmas concert was a total success and I could not have been more proud of this class! They did an amazing job and were so organized. They were always in place without me even asking! Thank you parents for all of your support with costumes and choir performances. A huge thank you to Elizabeth Nevels and Megan Peeke-Vout who organized the entire concert!

Skating Drivers! 

We will see you at school at 1:30 on Thursday. If you are unable to drive please let me know as we have a few extra. Here are the volunteers I have so far...there are alot but it is always great for helping with tying skates and on the ice. Feel free to bring the little ones.

Wittke

Pavelka

Cook

de Boer

Lorenz

Hagel

Gail

Toles

Earl - Turchyn

Lyle

THIS WEEK:

December 20 - Dress Like Christmas - Assembly at 8:30 am with caroling.

December 21 - Gingerbread House Decorating from 10:15-11:15 ish in the Art room

December 22 - Skating at Nicholas Sheran from 1:45-2:45

December 23 - Last day of classes until January 9

Spelling words this week:

away - may - pay - play - today - mail - rain - paint - afraid - said

Sight words this week:

knew - wanted - trip - friends- make

Bonus Question:

Fitzgerald the elf had 24 toys. He wanted to put them into 6 bags evenly for Santa's sleigh. How many toys need to go into each bag. Complete the 4 steps of problem solving!

Potatoes!!!!

We are completing a science experiment this week with potatoes. We will be eating potatoes and and examining the changes from heat before and after the potatoe is cooked. I am looking for a few volunteers to help with the materials for this experiment. I am hoping do our experiment on Tuesday or Wednesday. I am in need of:

2 small bags of potatoes

1 small jar of cheez whiz

1 small tub of margarine
1 package of tinfoil
dollar store pack of paper plates (25 plates)

If you are able to help with any of these items please email me at kellyjo.craddock@lethsd.ab.ca

Thanks so much!!!

I want to thank you all for all of your support the last few months of school! All of the drivers and snack volunteers, sending in items for special activities and home reading! This year has been such a success with your help!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and all the best in 2012! Have a very healthy and happy holiday!!!

Christmas Concert Week!

Christmas is on its way and we have so much to do from now until then! We now have more than enough drivers for skating! Thank you so much for your time! We always need lots of help to tie up skates and help kids on the ice.I am still looking for gingerbread forms from a few students. Please send back your red form if you have not already.

This week: 

December 15 - Christmas Concert at Southminster United Church. Starts at 6:30. Children should be dropped off at the side door across from Top's Pizza in their fisherman costume at 6:15. More details will be coming home. Don't forget to bring a donation for the Food Bank which can be donated as you come in the front entry way.

December 16 - Christmas Class Party. List of Snack volunteers is:

Christmas Party Snack List for December 16:

Fruit Plate - Hailey N.

Veggies and Dip - Zayne W.

Juice and Napkins - Nicholas G.

Cookies - Ceili D.

Muffins/Cupcakes - Rylee P.

Cheese and Crackers - Brooke R.

Meat and Pickles - Dre F.

Decemember 16 - School BINGO in our classrooms. From 9-10 am.

Things to think about for the week of December 19-23:

December 20 - Dress Like Christmas Assembly - Come to school dressed like Christmas!

December 21 - Gingerbread Decorating Day in the Art room at 10:15.

December 22- Grade 2 Skating at Nicholas Sheran from 1:45-2:45.

December 23 - Last day of school for Christmas Holidays.

Sledding Forms!!! I am really hoping that we can get out sledding before the end of 2011. There are about 10 students who need to return their consent form. Please do this ASAP so that we can all head outside for a great time together!

Today we made ice cream in science to demonstrate how a liquid can be changed when it is cooled. Some students really wanted the recipe! Here it is...

In a small zip lock bag add:
1 cup of chocolate milk
2 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
In a large zip lock bag fill it half way with ice cubes and 3 heaping tablespoons of kosher salt. Add the small, sealed bag of milk. Close the big bag. Shake , shake, shake until you have ice cream!

Here are the details on Christmas Concert costuming:
Miss Craddock’s class will be dressed as east coast Newfoundlanders, preferably in worn blue jeans (or pedal pushers) and white t-shirts or long sleeve shirts with no logos.  Blue jean shirts would be acceptable as well.  In keeping with a fisherman theme, a few of the students could wear rubber boots, or a fishing hat.  If you have any questions about costuming, please send me an email.

December 5 - 9

We are off and running towards Christmas! So much on the go! Hopefully the blog is somewhat helpful with reminders and information.

Thank you to everyone who has already returned their notes about Gingerbread House decorating and skating as well as sledding consent forms. Please return all of these A.S.A.P. as it really helps with organizing each event. Thank you to all of our parent drivers for skating! I am still in need of a few more drivers.

Wednesday, December 7 is the Grand Opening of Save-On Foods on the Westside! Thanks to all of those who will be coming to sing O' Canada. Please wear your school shirts and/or hoodies or wear school colours if possible! See you there at 5:15.

Reminders for December Events:

December 7 - Save-On Foods Grand Opening 5:15

December 15 - Christmas Concert

December 16 - Class Christmas Party

December 19-23 - Caroling in the gym from 8:30-8:50

December 20 - Dress like Christmas day

December 21 - Gingerbread Decorating from 10:15-11:15

December 22 - Grade 2 Skating at Nicholas Sheran from 1:45-2:45.

Christmas Party Snack List for December 16:

Fruit Plate - Hailey N.

Veggies and Dip - Zayne W.

Juice and Napkins - Nicholas G.

Cookies - Ceili D.

Muffins/Cupcakes - Rylee P.

Cheese and Crackers - Brooke R.

Meat and Pickles - Dre F.

Spelling words this week:

stand - stick - stamp - stone - fast - last - best - rest - must - taste

Sight words this week:

first - green - other - really - those

Bonus Question:

How many different ways can you represent the number 25? Show me on a piece of paper. Try for at leat 4 ways!

November 28 - December 2

Sorry about the post not showing up yesterday. My computer at school was not loading things properly!

Thank you to those who have already sent back thier gingerbread decorating forms! The students love this opportunity to build thier gingerbread homes with a friend or family member. Costco has some on sale right now if you are looking.

5 students have already signed up to sing O'Canada at the grand opening of Save-On-Foods next Wednesday at 5:20. If you are interested in having your child sing with the MMH grade 2's, please send in your form and we will see you there!

December is quickly approaching and it will be a BUSY month. Here is a list of upcoming events:

December 1- Scholastic Orders are due - I have already put the ones I have in.

December 15 - Christmas Concert

December 16 - Class Christmas Party

December 19-23 - Caroling in the gym from 8:30-8:50

December 20 - Dress like Christmas day

December 21 - Gingerbread Decorating from 10:15-11:15

December 22 - Grade 2 Skating at Nicholas Sheran from 1:45-2:45. We will need parent drivers for this.

I will be sending out more information about skating and class party soon.

 Christmas Party Snack List for December 16:

Fruit Plate - Hailey N.

Veggies and Dip - Zayne W.

Juice and Napkins - Nicholas G.

Cookies - Ceili D.

Muffins/Cupcakes - Rylee P.

Cheese and Crackers - Brooke R.

Meat and Pickles - Dre F.

Spelling Words this Week:

chip  - such - chop - bunch - rich - lunch - which - branch  -much - ache 

Sight Words This Week:

black - more - to - could - there

Bonus Question:

 Max has 6 skateboards. Each Skateboard has 4 wheels. How many wheels does he have altogether?

Remember to use all of the problem solving steps.

Oreo Day Success!!!

Oreo Day!!

What an awesome "Oreo Day" we had! Thank you for your support with sending in the bags of cookies! We had an absolute blast with centers, poetry, graphing and art projects. We had to end our day with milk and cookies of course! Thank you! The students have loved looking at the pictures taped to our door that capture the day! Be sure to take a peek when you come in for interviews this week.

A few reminders:

-No school on Thursday and Friday

-Book your Parent Teacher Interview if you have not already

-No spelling this week

We had a really great puppet presentation on autism today. Ask your child if they remember any of the seven Friend 2 Friend Friendship Tips.

November 14-18

Welcome back from our November break! We are jumping into a very busy few weeks ahead that will lead us right into Christmas!!! AGHH!!

Things to think about this week:

November 14- Make sure you log in and sign up for an interview time - If you need help with this contact Laura in the office.

November 15 - Stone Soup performance in Music Room at 12:55 -1:25

November 16 - Hot Lunch Day

November 16 - Pyjama Day

November 18 - Report Cards are coming home

November 18 - Send in a box of Oreo cookies

We are super excited about our "Oreo Day" coming up next week. I thank you for your support in advance to help make this day possible for your child. Please look for the white notice that came home with your child today that explains this day in more detail.

Please note that our Stone Soup performance will be tomorrow and not on Wednesday. Sorry for any confusion and problems this may have caused if you were planning on attending.

Pyjama day is always a blast! Don't forget to come to school in your Jim Jams on Wednesday!

Good Luck to our Grade 2/3 choir who will be hitting the spotlight on Wednesday. I know you will all do wonderful. You sound fabulous. Thanks to the parents who are driving.

Spelling words this week are:

shell - ship - shop - sheep - shut - dish - fish - wish - rush - push

Sight words this week are:

house - too - saw - thank - little

Bonus Question:

Choose 3 of your spelling words this week. Write 3 descriptive sentences using each one of the words.

November 7-9 A Short Week

Thank you for getting those Hot Lunch orders in! I know it was a fast deadline.

A big thank you as well to those of you who helped your child send in an item from their past. It was a really neat lesson in Social Studies to share the items and learn a little bit more about eachother.

Our Remembrance Day assembly will be this Wednesday at 10:30 am. Please join us if you are available. We have been talking, writing and completing art projects all about this day of peace. Please send your child with a poppy to wear if you are able to. There are poppies in the office available for a small 25 cent donation.

There is no school on Thursday and Friday this week.

Next Week's Happenings:

November 14 - Book your Parent Teacher Interview online

November 16 - Pyjama day

November 16 - Hot Lunch

November 18 - Report Cards are sent out

Just a friendly reminder about indoor/outdoor shoes and proper clothing for outdoor recesses. It is starting to get chilly and we really need to layer and bundle up with mitts and toques. Thanks in advance for sending your child with indoor and outdoor shoes as well as warm clothing for the weather.

Happy Halloween!

I hope that you all have a safe and Happy Halloween tonight! Thank you for all of your help in making it such a smooth day with costumes and snacks! We all had a lot of fun! Here we are! Some of us are a little distracted by our tiny special guests! :)

After today we are back to a regular week. Keep in mind that next week there is no school on the 10th and 11th of November.

Spelling words this week are:

think - bath - both - with - there - than - then - them - that - these

Sight words this week are:

which - how - thing - read - write

Scholastic book orders for November will be due on November 23.

Thank you to those that have been working on home reading and math facts at home. I can really tell who is working hard at home. It makes a real difference in your child's learning.

Question of the week:

Miss Craddock had 20 mini aero bars. She wanted to give them away and share them with 4 of her friends. How many mini bars would each friend get?

Draw a picture to show your answer.

Can I ask for your help?

Can we please try and limit the number of Halloween treats coming to school with the students. We talked today as a class and we think that 2-3 treats would be more than enough as they make their way through their Halloween treats. Thanks for your help. It really makes a difference in your child's learning. More sugar=trouble focusing and learning.

For the week of October 24 - 28

I hope you all had a restful weekend enjoying the beautiful fall weather! Thank you to all of the parents who sent in pumpkins today for our pumpkin math booklets. If you forgot or were not able to, please do your best to send one with your child for tomorrow.

A few things to keep in mind for this week and the week ahead:

October 24 - Feed the Bug food campaign begins! Please send in your non-perishable food items. Thank you to those that already have done so! We have collected 35 items as a class so far. Our goal is 100!
October 25  - Picture Re-takes

October 25 - Please send a pumpkin if you have not already

October 31 - Halloween Parade at 12:40 - Come and check our the costumes if you would like!

Snack Volunteers for Halloween Party on Monday, October 31:

Monroe R. - Fruit Plate
Olivia G. - Veggies and Dip
Rylee P. - Juice and Napkins  

Nicholas G. - Cookies
Ethan M. - Muffins/Cupcakes
Ceili deB. - Cheese and Crackers
Serena D. - Meat and pickles

It has been asked that we remind all families to keep costumes simple this Halloween. We will only be dressing up for the afternoon and there is not a lot of time for changing and costume adjusting. A cosutme that could easily be slipped over your child's clothing would work best. Thank you for your help with this.

Spelling words this week are:

one - gone - done - does - from - of - love - some - come - none

Sight words:

kicked - played - our - name - what

Bonus question of the week:

If Miss Craddock carved 9 pumpkins at home and then brought 8 more home to carve, how many pumpkins would she have  carved altogether?

Please show a number sentence, picture and written sentence for your problem solving.

What a Short Week!

Sorry for not posting yesterday! The day was a blur!

There will be no spelling this week with the few days that we have together.

Just a reminder that every child will need a pumpkin for math next week. Please send it to school on Monday with your child. Please lable the pumpkin with your child's name. Thanks so much!

HOT LUNCH is this WEDNESDAY October 19.

Book Orders are due on Monday October 24th.

Thank you for all of your support with the Book Fair and Magazine Orders. Our school REALLY benefits from these organized events.

There is NO SCHOOL this Thursday and Friday (October 20 and 21) due to professional development days.

PICTURE RETAKES are next Tuesday, October 25.

Back in Action!

I hope you all had a restful and happy Thanksgiving. We had a really great day back at school today. We started a great Halloween writing project in Language Arts and talked and wrote more about the battle between the Blackfoot and the Cree. Grade 2 history experts in the making!

It is Fire Safety Week! Thank you to all of you who have helped your child complete the fire escape plans that came home last week. Please send those in this week if you have not done so. I find it to be a really great discussion as a class and the students always feel great knowing they have an escape plan.

Thank you to all of our parent volunteers who came with us on our trips to the Fort and Galt Museum last week! We had a great time at both sites and I am so impressed with all the facts the students share with me during Social Studies.

Just a reminder that Picture Order Money is due this Friday and retakes are on October 25th.

Scholastic Orders are also due on October 24th.

Spelling words this week are:

off - on - odd - fox - box - socks - stop - rock - lot  -spot

Sight words this week are:

favourite - very - girl - into - your

Bonus Activity:How do I know if a number is odd or even? Write a sentence or 2 or draw a picture to show the difference between odd and even numbers. Bring in your answer for a sticker!

If you are thinking ahead to school Halloween Party this is the snack sign up! I will remind you in agendas as well closer to the day. Thanks so much!
Monroe R. - Fruit Plate
Olivia G. - Veggies and Dip
Rylee P. - Juice and Napkins  

Nicholas G. - Cookies
Ethan M. - Muffins/Cupcakes
Ceili deB. - Cheese and Crackers
Serena D. - Meat and pickles

Thanksgiving Week!

We are sooooo busy this month!The students worked so hard today! Fall leaf writing, Counting by 2's, 5's and 10's! Adding and subtracting! Reading with buddies. We were busy. We have two field trips this week. Please check out the information below for parent driver information and supervision reminders.

Thank you to the following volunteers who will be driving us to the Fort this Wednesday, October 5 at 9:40. We have just enough drivers who can transport students and supervise. So those of you who so graciously offered to drive can help out another time. Thank you so much. Our drivers/supervisors will be:

Mrs. deBoer

Mrs. Hagel

Mrs. Cook

Mrs. Gail

Mrs. Lorenz

Mrs. Babe

Mrs. Meerkerk

Our supervisors for our trip to the Galt Museum on Thursday, October 6 at 9:00 are:

Mrs. Babe

Mrs. Earl

Mrs. Lorenz

Mrs. Gail

You are more than welcome to ride the bus with us or meet us there at 9:15.

Thank you for ALL of the school support with the start of our magazine fundraiser! The kids are excited about all of the incentives.

No school on Monday, October 10th!

Bonus Blog Question:

Write a descriptive sentence about a leaf. Your sentence must have one colour word and one action word.

Help!

We are in need of shoeboxes for a special project this Winter. If you have already sent one with your child, GREAT! If you have not please send one this week. We are also in need of old margarine and yogurt tubs and lids for our painting times. We arelooking for the larger sized plastic tubs, not the minis that come in lunch kits. Thanks so much if you are able to help.

Kepp your eye out for the fire prevention activity coming home this week with your child. It is fire safety time!

Spelling words this week:
yes- tell -less- next - mess - went - help - send - well - end
Sight words this week:
people - call - after - school - was

Our Last Week of September!!!

It is crazy how fast time is flying! September is always so busy and I appreciate all of your support to help make all of our activities possible.

Last week we had a fabulous time at the Terry Fox Walk! Our class was AMAZING! What a perfect day to get out and meet our westside friends at Nicholas Sheran. Thank you to all of our parents who joined us.

This week we are off on our First Field Trip to the Galt Gardens on Tuesday Morning at 9:00am. Thank you to the following volunteers who will be joining us: Mrs. Babe, Mrs. Meerkerk, Mrs. Toles,  Mrs. Gail, Mr. Cook and Mrs. deBoer.

Thank you to the following volunteers who will be driving us to the Fort next Wednesday, October 5 at 9:40. We have just enough drivers who can transport students and supervise. So those of you who so graciously offered to one drive can help out another time. Thank you so much. Our drivers/supervisors will be:

Mrs. deBoer

Mrs. Hagel

Mrs. Cook

Mrs. Gail

Mrs. Lorenz

Mrs. Babe

Mrs. Meerkerk

This weeks spelling words:

up - us - put - bump - hunt  - nut - luck - mud - duck - bus

This weeks sight words:

off - found - always - these - does

We have a magazine fundraiser assembly this Wednesday from 8:30-9:00. Please come and join us if you are interested in the fundraising details. Information will be coming home.

Bonus Question:
List 2 ways small animals protect themsleves from predators.

OOps!!!

Sorry!!!! Picture day is this Thursday....NOT Wednesday! 

September 19 - 23

We are off to a great start on this Monday morning! We had a great time with our Book buddies in Mrs. Bloudolf's class. Thank you so much to all of our parent volunteers at last weeks field trip. What troopers in the wind!

Here is what is up this week!

September 22 - Picture Day - Please send your picture form back with your child if you have not already.

September 23 - Terry Fox Walk Day - We will be leaving the school after Friday announcements and heading to Nicholas Sheran and then back again. If you have been collecting money you can send it in on this day or even after the official walk.Thank you to our parent volunteers.

Jasper it is your Special Friday this week but we are going to make it special on Thursday because of Terry Fox Walk. I am excited to start our Special Fridays. The students love the chance to share information about themself as well as listen to all of the awesome compliments our class has to share about each student. It really helps to build a classroom of caring students.

Spelling words this week are:

if - gift - lift - him - milk - miss - fix - mix- six - this

Sight words this week are:

they - said - have - why - because

Field Trip Reminder

Tomorrow we are off on a little trip to the top of the coulees near Bull Trail. Thank you to ALL of the parent volunteers. We have over 10 volunteers joining us tomorrow. WOW! If you decide last minute you are not able to join for some reason....don't stress! We have more than enough volunteers for this particular trip and we have 2 more trips coming up at the end of September and mid October.

For tomorrow please send your child with:

-a water bottle

-proper footwear

-clothes appropriate for the weather

-a snack

-a plastic bag to sit on in case the ground is wet

       Allergy Reminder

Dear Parents,

I just wanted to take a moment to send out a reminder about allergies in our classroom. It is very important to me as I am sure it is you, to ensure safety for all students at school. In our class we have a SEVERE allergy to ALL NUTS as well as salmon. The same allergies are also present in other grade 2 rooms. With the changes to lunch programs and routines we now eat together in our classes and it is very important that we are NOT sending peanut butter sandwiches and nut based snacks etc.  I appreciate your support in making our classroom a safe environment for everyone. Thank you for your understanding.

Kelly Jo Craddock



Spelling Starts This Week!

We are off to a great start in our class! I am so impressed with all of the hard working students and the positive attitudes. It is so awesome to be moving along so early in the year!

This week our spelling program starts. EVERY MONDAY your child will have 10 words that match the homework and 5 new sight words. The homework is due EVERY THURSDAY and tests will be EVERY FRIDAY. All words will be printed in the agendas to help with studying. The homework can be sent back in the agenda once it is complete. Today we talked about working on spelling homework in small chunks each night to help have it complete by Thursday morning. Some students will love the idea of homework and will have it finished before bed tonight!

Words this week focus on the short a sound:

am - hand - as - land - ask - mad - has - add - was - act

Sight words this week:

going - is - then - when - from

Thanks to everyone who was able to attend the Welcome Back BBQ! It was quite fun and busy! Sorry if I did not get a chance to speak with you! Thanks for understanding the hectic schedule of the night.

This Friday we will be kicking off our History of Lethbridge Social Studies Unit. We start with a really great walk to the top of the coulees to talk about what the land looked like as well as First Nation history that is part of our community. If you would like to join us for this walk Friday am please let me know by email or agenda. More info will come home tomorrow.

September 6 - September 9

I hope you all had a really relaxing and fun-filled long weekend! The students have come back refreshed and ready to go! We have got through a whole whack or work (try saying that fast 5 times) this morning.

Just a few reminders about events this week.

WELCOME BACK BBQ is Thursday the 8th beginning at 5:30. You can buy your tickets at the door. At about 6:30 families are invited into the classrooms. Please pop in even you don't plan on eating. There will be a few things to sign up for and its a great chance to ask questions about the year.

Agendas have been coming home each night and will continue to all year. Thanks so much for initialing the agendas each night. It is really a great way to communicate and keep in touch about most things.

HOME READING will not begin for a few weeks. I like to take time with each student to assess where they are at and to be sure reading levels and material is suitable. Thanks for understanding.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email - kellyjo.craddock@lethsd.ab.ca